Villa Monastero

Name: Villa Monastero
Address: Viale Giovanni Polvani, 4, Varenna, Varenna, IT
Telephone: +39 0341 183 1100

Landmarks ·Varenna

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About

Villa Monastero is a villa and house museum with a botanical garden on Lake Como, south of Varenna towards Fiumelatte.

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Lakeside garden paths lined with tall cypresses and plants from Africa and the Americas
Giovanni Polvani’s optical, electronic and mechanical instruments in the house museum

Neoclassical templeA small semicircular temple with a rococo staircase.In the park1904

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The villa has an eclectic design with Nordic influences.
Villa Monastero - Wikipedia
60 Nobel
More than 60 Nobel Prize winners have attended physics courses at the villa.
Varenna - Wikivoyage (see)

12th c.A Cistercian convent was founded on the site.
1567The convent was suppressed.
1569Paolo Mornico bought the estate and converted it into a residence.
Early 17th c.The Mornico family added two symmetrical loggias to the façade.
1897–1909Walter Kees renovated the villa in an eclectic style and enlarged the garden.

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1936Marco De Marchi left the villa to the state for a museum and an institute for hydrogeological studies.
1940The garden opened to the public.
2003The house museum opened to the public.

Where

Viale Giovanni Polvani, 4, Varenna

Where is Villa Monastero in Varenna?

Villa Monastero stands on Lake Como, south of Varenna, between the village and Fiumelatte. It is on SP72.

Is there parking at Villa Monastero?

A multi-storey car park is available.

What can you visit at Villa Monastero?

Villa Monastero has a botanical garden and a house museum with 14 furnished rooms.

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